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Hilton Garden Inn Snowdonia hotel in receivership, ‘to be rebranded’

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The Hilton Garden Inn Snowdonia hotel is to be rebranded after going into receivership, according to the Daily Post.

The hotel opened in 2021 next to the surf lagoon at Adventure Park Snowdonia in Dolgarrog.

The surf lagoon closed in 2023, after what is described as ‘a series off mechanical failures’, after which the hotel was apparently used to house asylum seekers.

Hilton Garden Inn Snowdonia receivership

Some respite came in 2024 when Zip World reopened the indoor activity centre near the hotel, but this was clearly not enough to support it out of season.

The hotel will drop into pre-pack administration with a deal already arranged for a new owner to take it over, free of its debts.

The press report says that “it is understood it will no longer trade under the Hilton brand.”

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Comments (26)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Charlie says:
    26 Dec26 December 06:37

    Shame. My wife and I stayed there for four days two years in room with a view overlooking the surf lagoon. Great location, fabulous mountain views, comfortable with very friendly and efficient staff.

  • Simon says:
    26 Dec26 December 07:44

    Oh no! We stayed here 3 weeks ago as a base for a weekend of hill walking and it was excellent. The staff were lovely, the food was good, just outside the national park so travel to and from was easy and the spa was a nice extra.

    It was odd that the zip world stuff was all totally closed up, even the indoor stuff apparently was open again until Easter.

  • Pb says:
    26 Dec26 December 08:31

    What is strange is the Welsh government think tourism in Wales is in such a healthy state that it’s worthy of applying a tourist tax .

    • RussellH says:
      26 Dec26 December 09:42

      Tourists taxes are the norm in most of Europe.

      IMHO they should be set at a high enough level in order to fund something useful in return eg the Black Forest, where in return you get free public transport over a very wide area.

      • Pb says:
        26 Dec26 December 13:02

        That is because plenty of people or indeed too many visit , Wales does not find itself in that position nor does it invest in tourism as it should or make it easy for potential visitors.

  • Novelty-Socks says:
    26 Dec26 December 09:08

    That’s a shame. My partner did the surf experience a few years ago and it was great. Also a nice spot to hang out for a day.

    For a while it was the only artificial surf park in the UK I think. There are some others now – suspect the new competition and relatively inaccessible location may have helped to make it less economical to repair.

    • Qrfan says:
      26 Dec26 December 09:17

      From what I read it looks a lot like they invested in v1.0 technology that barely worked, and the rest of the sites are now v2.0 that work much more reliably.

      • Novelty-Socks says:
        26 Dec26 December 09:31

        Yeah I was just reading about that, this article prompted me to have a look. Sounds like it was a bit of a maintenance nightmare and got totally superseded.

  • Duncan says:
    26 Dec26 December 09:17

    Yes, a shame indeed.
    I looked at a stay there to complete Diamond for this year, but getting there without a car looked problematic, so gave it a miss for another time.
    Good luck to the staff, at what must be a fraught time.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      26 Dec26 December 10:08

      As it’s a pre pack it’s essentially transferring as a going concern and all staff should TUPE over.

      Btw someone else commented suggesting Interesting Hotels group were sticking with Hilton for now.

  • Doc says:
    26 Dec26 December 09:31

    Such a shame. Reasonably priced with free electric charging points and easy drive to lots of places. Will miss it.

  • Cranzle says:
    26 Dec26 December 09:34

    Perhaps HfP should crowdfund a distressed purchase like this

    • Charles Martel says:
      26 Dec26 December 10:06

      If people that know how to run hotels can’t make a profit, what makes you think a bunch of critics could?

      • Rob says:
        26 Dec26 December 11:20

        Hotels need to be tuned in to the local market. That’s the knowledge you need. It could be the best-run Hilton in Britain but if the product / price mix is wrong for the area it will fail. This place simply looks too big given the demand. You can only beat the market by becoming a destination in yourself and that’s not happening with a HGI.

        I’ve always said to people that if I was given £50m to put into hotels I’d build 5 x £10m Holiday Inn Express hotels on the edge of big cities. 200 rooms each, 90% occupancy at £75 (£4m annual revenue exc VAT), modular build, handful of staff. That’s how you make money. It’s not by opening a £50m boutique five star in central London.

        Airlines are a different story, I could run one of those easily 🙂

        • TGLoyalty says:
          26 Dec26 December 11:39

          You’re bang on with wrong product in the wrong area.

        • Daddio says:
          26 Dec26 December 14:05

          Currently in the HIX Taunton east. It’s in need of a refurb (massive AC in the room, no power points by the side of the bed) but, you know what, it’s got a lovely charm. And £50 a night over chrome is great. Staff are great, shower is hot, breakfast is plentiful (although the coffee is rank). There’s a Holiday Inn within walking distance, charging £100 a night more.

          So, your business plan is sound. Have a product that appeals to the masses, is priced right, in the right location: it’s not difficult.

          • Rob says:
            26 Dec26 December 14:27

            I spent a month in that Holiday Inn back in 1992 when it was a Posthouse. I thought it was the epitome of glamour at the time!

        • Lumma says:
          27 Dec27 December 01:58

          Luckily there’s people who work in hospitality who love the industry or all we’d have would be holiday inn expresses in retail parks

  • Matthew Brown says:
    26 Dec26 December 11:01

    Stayed in may was a lovely hotel

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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